the president also won the supreme court's stamp of approval for his health care reform program. and made history with this statement. >> i think same sex couples should be able to get married. >> as 2012 comes to a close, the president joined in grief with a community shocked by senseless violence. >> these tragedies must end. and to end them we must change. >> brooke baldwin, cnn atlanta. that's 2012 in just 60 minutes. what does 2013 hold? we'll find out together. i'm don lemon, thanks for watching. okay, stand by, piers. >> things have got pretty wild with some of my guests, but nothing quite like this. what the hell's that?

my studio has turned into a jungle. >> whoa, whoa! jack, am i going to die here? oh, my god, what's this? tonight, the one and only jack hanna and a few of his closest friends. >> he deficates on his legs to keep him cool. >> you know what, too much information. >> if he bites you, it won't hurt bad. this is the only animal in the world to carry leprosy. i'm not joking. >> now you tell me! never quite know what will happen next when jack hanna's in the house. he's got my notes. >> i'm sorry, that your notes? >> this is a very dangerous edition of "piers morgan tonight." good evening and welcome to a special "piers morgan tonight." as you can see, the studio looks a little different tonight. trust me, several of my guests that will be here over the course of the hour, cheetahs, foxes, owls, cuomo doe dragons and these. i'm here with jack hanna where anything can happen.

also the host of jack hanna's into the wild and a new show called wild countdown and his tigers are literally eating my studio. so we better get on with it. welcome. jack, am i going to die here? >> no. you shouldn't die, but if you were going to die, these are the animals that would do it. >> these are baby tigers, how old are they? >> these are siberian tigers, 13 weeks. >> how old can they kill a man? >> 22 months. these animals weigh over 600 pounds. one of the rarest cats in the world, piers. less than 400, could be 200 left in siberia in that part of the world. they were hunted for their coats. problem today, they are 600 pounds. >> they look strong. >> they are very strong. they could put a whole through your arm right now. >> right. looks like he wants to. can they bite at this age? >> yeah, they can bite. they learn from each other. they're on a species survival plan and what they are, they have chips in them. it could be another three to six

months could go to a zoo in europe, australia, where wherever it might be, to keep the gene pool fresh. these animals are so rare we have to know exactly the breeding program. >> why are you not remotely scared of them? >> it's not a matter -- that's a good question. people ask me if i'm scared. if i find myself afraid or scared, that means i'm going the wrong thing. they know the animal very well, so i've been around them. i don't raise them like these guys do, but having raised tigers, my wife and i have raised, tigers, lions, leopards, everything in your 40 years of marriage. so you know cats when you do that much. see how he's licking me? if that were a full-grown tiger, piers, in less than three minutes he could lick me to the bone. that's how rough the tongue gets. sand paper like you wouldn't believe. >> when they're full sized, how many are left in the world? two to 400. that's all there is. >> two of the last remaining siberian tigers. >> in the zoo world we do quite

well with them. in india, the bengal tiger, seen them take down a water buffalo in less than ten seconds, it's like a bomb going off, like a grenade going off inside something. they are the only cats in the world that can eat up to 30, 40 pounds in one sitting. their stomachs can explode and kill the animal. they'll eat putrefied meat. most cats like lions won't eat that. they'll bury the carcass -- >> what do you feed them with? >> special diet. you heard the growling. >> i did hear that growling. >> you hear that in the wild, your pants won't be dry. >> my pants aren't dry at the moment. i can tell you that. they are small, but look quite big. >> being here means a lot, the millions of people you reach, you're seeing one of the rarest creatures in the world. you can see the power we're talking about and the beauty of the animal. tragedy to see this animal go into extinction. for example, there's several tiger species that have gone into extinction. that's not what we want to have

happen with these cats here. >> it would be a big tragedy, but an even bigger one, would be if one of them eat me on air. we'll move on quite swiftly. nice to meet the tiger cubs. >> they were born at the columbus zoo. >> we're going to bring out -- what is this? >> this cat here is something -- you can even hold this cat. if he bites you, won't hurt bad. >> you know what, you just hang on to that. this is a caracal. in egypt in the tombs -- in the pyramids. >> like a sphinx. >> exactly. >> because the pharaohs used to dry to domesticate this animal years ago. >> he's biting your arm. >> you saw how big the tigers were, full grown, they won't get that thick, you can see how thin it is. look at the ears, i don't mean worship the animal, but it reptded -- represented royalty back then. i'm sure a lot of people lost their hand trying to domesticate this cat. what's unique about this cat is one of the only cats in the

world that can jump ten feet in the air and catch a bird flying. >> ten feet? >> only seen them twice in the wild. they live out in the jungles, the plains of kenya, tanzania, that part of the world. they don't exist much hardly up in egypt anymore. they lay down, watch for a bird and go plopping like that. because of their back legs are so powerful. >> ten feet is like huge. >> it's amazing. they can grab the bird going by. it's called a caracal cat. the ears give him away. >> very egyptian. what's next? we got the -- what are these? >> this is amazing. i didn't know we had this one on. this is a serval cat. this cat also is a cat that is from africa, and this cat also has front legs and hind legs are different lengths. one of the few cats that can catch a bird in free flight. you'll notice the spots on the back of his ears -- ouch. you see that?

those are called eye spots. >> he wants to eat your hand. >> if this cat is sitting there eating something, a hyena thinks he's looking back, hence eye spots. >> how tame are these? by comparison to purely wild version? >> right now as far as tame, this animal won't become a tame animal. we raise these animals, then if their mothers don't raise them, then they go back into -- they're still wild animals. very famous trainer told me once you can usually train a wild animal, never tame a wild animal. ever. they are always going to be wild. no matter what anybody says. >> this is a vulture? >> egyptian vulture. >> oops, dropped the thing, come here, buddy. >> what are you feeding it, raw meat? you are actually feeding the vulture raw meat? >> yes. they eat raw meat. you smell him? >> yeah, stinks. >> what he does, he defecates on his legs to keep him cool. >> you know what, jack, too much information.

there are certain things -- i was quite liking this vulture until you told me that. >> that's why they smell, plus his head is bald because -- >> he gets down in the guts. >> they are ugly, they stink, they eat raw meat. tell me one good thing about the vulture. >> one good thing -- other than the defecation, the feeding on carcasses, and the terrible smell? >> clean up all the mess other animals don't eat. >> like a vacuum cleaner. >> he also can take a rock -- one of the few birds in the world can take a rock and open an ostrich egg. uses a tool to do that. >> extraordinary. oh, my god, what's this? >> you did a story with me -- >> i did, alligators killing people, yes. >> you want to -- yeah, okay with me. piers. >> all right, mate. how far? yes, thank you. no, no. >> you're smart saying that because on the ground, they can

jump off their four feet and outrun any human being in the first 20 yards. >> are you serious? >> yes. this is right here is a nice one. >> how do you turn nice alligator? >> i don't mean nice, i don't mean nice. that's not fair. >> he could kill me. >> yes, but he's not going to right now. >> how do you know? >> i don't know for sure, but i don't think he should. not many people can do this, but grant here, does a good job with an alligator. ever seen down an alligator's throat? >> no, not lately. >> the power, where's the camera? look down the throat, everyone, can't see down his throat like most animals. flat back there, right? that allows an alligator to go down under water and not choke on water. if a fish swims around, oh, that's a cave, bam! remember the interview, they don't chew, they tear. >> yes, i remember that.

>> the sensors over here have sensors on the side of his head -- >> try and humanize him. what's his name? >> curly. >> how old do they get? >> 75 to a hundred years old. they can go a year without eating. >> would they attack without being challenged or scared? >> no. yes and no. if you go around an alligator with youngsters -- get next to an alligator's nest and they don't sit like that like a bird on a nest, if you get near it, one of the most aggressive animals in nature. you are gone. if you get near an alligator's nest. they lay about 20, 30 eggs and the sex of the alligator is determined by the heat of the nest. not sure if the male is hot -- what is it? >> male is hot. >> hot nest, nest will be -- eggs will be males. we've done research and found cans, tubes, everything inside these creatures. when they get hungry, they'll take apart anything. >> have they found human remains inside curly? >> no, but i've done shows in malaysia, you wouldn't believe the crocodiles get to be 21, 22,

23 feet long, over 2,000 pounds. much bigger than your stage here. >> i think we should go quickly to commercial break. >> you want to hold it? >> i don't want to hold curly, no. i think we're in a no-touching zone on this show. when we come back, happy feet penguins, jack, and one of the oldest animals in the world. first, here's one of jack's top five animal close encounters. with a puff ader. >> what are you doing? >> demonstrating how the eyes are fixed on movement and how they don't want to hurt anyone. >> oh, my gosh. >> they can't see you. they can smell you. >> oh! >> you don't classify as food, so you're not on the menu and pretty safe.

i'm back with the closest thing to a living dr. doolittle, jack hanna, introducing furry friends, it's a ridiculous description given we have crocodiles and tigers, let's pretend they are furry friends. this is a bit more like it. this is a nice looking penguin. >> black-footed penguin. if you're on a game show, how many species of penguin, 17,

thing is, only five out of 17 live in cold weather, all the rest live in warm weather. >> really? >> people don't realize that. this is from south africa. called the black-footed penguin or jackass penguin. it brays like a donkey. there's penguins in australia, galapagos islands, south africa. this was put on the endangered species list in july. >> how many in the world? >> quite a few, but this is listed endangered about a year ago. it's an animal that don't really eat the penguin, by the way, they collect the eggs and feathers off the penguin, but a lot of problems there. but they have more feathers per square inch than any bird in the world, the penguin does. >> what is your favorite animal? >> my wife. that's funny, she's not here, who cares. >> if you could live the rest of your life on a desert island, what would it be? >> having raised animals all my life, 50-something years, i've fascinated by cats. all kinds of cats. the elephant. soon find out the elephant is

more intelligent than any animal in the world. more than even primates. >> you can only have one, what would you have? >> one, i'd have to say -- >> you can have a few, but got to be the same thing. >> i'd have to say an elephant is fascinating. >> a herd of elephants. >> when you see a herd of elephants in africa, it's phenomenal. second largest mamol in the world. in 1978, there were 1.4 million, today down less than 74,000. it's a major drop. >> nice to meet you, penguin. >> go back here. >> let's bring out the next animal, which is a gigantic tortoise. >> you can put him up here. thank you, jimmy. i'll hold him. >> what's his name? >> jimmy. oh, the tortoise. i'm sorry, the tortoise. this is slow poke the tortoise. this is a kind of tortoise from northern africa. gets to be about 150 pounds. >> he's magnificent. >> they really are. it's amazing, that's what's wrong, a turtle shell, you know what happens, jewelry, all sorts

of things, now this animal is a protected species. let me show you, good lord. how did you pick that up? >> i don't know. >> this is the second largest tortoise in the world, up to 500 pounds. >> who would win in a fight? >> this one here, much bigger. these things can live 200 years. >> 200 years old? >> yes, yes. the sailors back in the 1500s, could put them in the hull of the ship, last them for a year with no water or food. no food, nothing, they live that long. tell you what, the ship must have stunk. >> he's heavy, right? >> this is a male, i think this one is a male too. the bottom of the shell is flat. >> amazing animals, really amazing. >> the tortoise and the hare, they are not that slow. >> how fast can they move? >> last night one was crawling across the hotel room, ten seconds. >> you have them in the hotel room?

>> ain't seen nothing, alligator in the bathtub. >> what! jack, are you slightly mad? seriously, be honest. >> i want to tell you -- >> alligator in the bathtub and these tortoises in your bed. do you think to yourself, jack, you may not be the full ticket here? >> you want to do this one? >> what is this one? >> wallaby, you've heard of a kangaroo. >> they are australian, right? what the hell's that? my studio is turned into a jungle. whoa, whoa. what is that? >> let me finish my wallaby. >> what is this? >> make him do it. [ bird noises ] i love this. i get the biggest kick out of it. my wife, i sit at home. >> what is this? >> laughing kookaburra. >> it is? >> make him laugh again. doesn't that crack you up?

>> that's hilarious. >> when you're out there sometimes in the bushes and this goes off at 2:00 in the morning, you jump out of your sleeping bag. what in the heck is that thing, a lot of people have kookaburras. he likes this show. he never does this. >> he likes my jokes? [ laughter ] [ bird noises ] >> let's go. check into the hotel, put it in your room. that's the wallaby, one of the smallest marsupials -- not the smallest marsupial, like the kangaroo, 30 types of wallaby. they're just very small. the big kangaroos stand up five or six feet tall. what do you call a flock or geese or herd of cattle, what do you call a bunch of kangaroos?

a mob of kangaroos. >> anything australian would be a mob to a brit. >> thank you. >> they eat grass. >> wallaby seems quite calm in comparison to the rest of these nut cases. >> i love that bird, though. this is one of the most prehistoric animals on earth. >> wow, what is this? >> this right here is a three-banded armadillo. >> did you say there were batteries in it? >> that was a joke. one, two, three. >> what is it? >> three-banded armadillo. 11 banded, nine banded, and people eat the armadillo, but in south america, they cook it like a taco. when you're there with the natives, people live there, they'll cook it like this, but he's the only armadillo in the world, not even anent can pen straight that. >> it's amazing. >> touch it, see how hard it is. you won't believe this, only animal in the world to carry leprosy.

>> now you tell me! >> that is the old days, i hope. >> what do you mean, you hope? if you just gave me leprosy -- we're going to fall out, jack. >> look it up when you go back to your room. >> i believe you. i'd rather you tell me before i touched him. >> i forgot to tell you, i usually tell people before they touch it, some people don't want to touch it. look at this here. go ahead, buddy, go ahead. >> we need to take a break while i have a leprosy test. next, animal responsible for the worst bite of jack's life, can you guess what it is? we'll find out after the break. first, another of jack's close encounters, you'll be surprised to hear, lions. >> got one of the males there. you can see they are going to gang up on us, because he's almost enticing this one that's closest. >> did you say he's going to gang up on us?

time now with jack hanna, the director emeritus of the columbus zoo and he's brought some more company, a snow leopard. frisky one. >> piers, this probably is one of the most fascinating, for me, will get to four times this size. but they live in the hima layas. >> how many left in the world? >> 1,000, 500. they live in altitudes way up in the himalayas. >> when there's so few, how do they find another to mate with.

>> that's it, good point. they are solitary, there's not enough to find another cat. >> can they mix mate with other breeds? >> not up there. lion and tiger has been done before, not cats. that tail, for example, touch the tail if you want to. the tail here gets much bigger, this thick. up there it's 40, 50 below zero, whatever. >> wow. that was cool, wasn't it? >> that's very cool, yeah. >> sorry you don't have a hand there, please, don't sue me. this animal takes his tail and wraps it around him, piers, all the way around him like a jacket to keep his face warm and the ears are short because they would freeze up there. but this cat has fur on the bottom of their feet. they can jump 30, 40 feet. they can jump a lot up there. >> he likes to operate in the cold. >> colder the better, this cat. >> how does he deal with being in new york and a reasonably high temperature? >> always keep him in air conditioning whenever the cat goes.

>> where do you keep him at night? >> hotel room. >> serious? >> dead serious. wouldn't lie about something like that. >> do you sleep? >> not much at night. they don't sleep at all. they put me in another room. >> do you ever get scared? no, not at all? >> sad thing about this coat, piers, on the black market this coat right now, if you can find one, a guy got caught in europe last yeerks, 80 ar, $80,000. >> for this coat? >> this coat right here, this animal. >> that's the tragedy. >> today it is, today it's useless. this animal you can touch -- >> so beautiful, yeah. >> absolutely beyond any animal i've worked with. snow leopard is magnificent. represents what endangered species are about. >> beautiful. what a shame. in a few years it could be all over. >> all gone, yep. he also has a chip in him, so he'll go in the s.s.p. with the american zoo association. >> this is the slightly uglier end of the market. >> this is an animal here that has been used by our settlers and pioneers, the beaver.

>> this is the beaver that bit your hand? >> not the same one, but exactly like this. here, touch the beaver. ever touched a beaver? >> no. >> that's a dumb question. >> is it wise given you had your -- >> back here you can touch him. i picked him up the wrong way is all i did one time. yeah. >> anyway, bit rougher. >> rougher, right. the beaver's a unique animal. see the tail here, they talk about a beaver slapping the water. >> like an alligator. >> exactly. this animal -- >> is he happy with that apple? >> he wants more to eat. don't put your hand there. >> do they eat meat? >> no, but he'll think your hand's an apple or something. >> that's really comforting. >> this tail slaps the water, piers, and that warns other animals. >> he stinks too, jack. >> how do you know? >> i can smell him, stinks. >> did he go to the bathroom? >> no, it's me. [ laughter ] >> usually don't smell.

go to bathroom, it smells. >> beaver like this nearly bit your finger. >> whole thumb, whole thing. animals like the beaver -- >> worst injury you've had? >> yeah, one of the worst. been sat on by an elephant. but 99% times there's an accident, it's the person's fault, not the animal's fault. see his back foot, i don't know if he'll let you do that. it's a webbed foot almost like a duck almost. it's a webbed foot is what it is, that back foot. that's how they swim. beavers are so cute. do you have beavers in england? >> i think so, yeah. calm down. >> bucky the beaver. >> okay. what do we got here? >> i've never done this on any show before. all kind of fox, red fox, gray fox, this is the smallest one in the world from the sahara desert. this animal has big ears that not just to hear with. has blood vessels that keeps them cool in the desert. this animal here can go his whole life in the desert without

drinking water, he eats scorpions, snakes, lizards. >> without ever eating water? >> water comes from what he eats. >> eats insects and spiders that have water in them? >> yes. >> amazing. >> scorpions, loves to eat. smallest fox in the world. this fox here is -- which one is that one? >> swift. >> both, right? >> mother and daughter. >> the swift fox, is very endangered in our country. can go 30, 40 miles an hour, fastest fox in the world. they are a social creature, but yeah, when you say cunning like a fox, you've heard that term, these things are bright. swift fox in this country, very few people get to see, smallest fox in the world. beautiful animals from the columbus zoo. this right here, though, this, piers, is the largest owl in the world. eagle owl. if you're ever asked a question on a game show, can you give me half the money if you get this. what animal is found on every continent except antarctica?

there's a species of owl. this is not even full grown yet. you want to hold him? you can hold him. >> i'll let your guy hold him, that's fine. >> you want to have a glove you see the talons there. first, get a camera on his feet for a second. a bald eagle, you've heard of a bald eagle, right? 1,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. if that was a bald eagle, it would break his bone in a split second, that's how powerful the talons are. not that that would ever happen, but that's how powerful they are. see there? like a corkscrew, right? the reason is because his eyes are so big they cannot move in his eye socket. if you see a pretty girl go by, you'd go like this with your eyeballs. he can't do that because his eyes are so big he has to move his whole head around. he can't all the way around or his head would fall off. he can go almost all the way around with that head. also the bird of silent flight. if i were to fly him one inch over your head, you'd never hear anything. a parrot or goose --

>> completely silent? >> one last thing, they call tt wise old owl, not because they have a big brain. they have senses, hearing, eyesight, not on the side -- over here like a soup bowl, like this. echo location, he can hunt in total, total darkness. a lot of people don't get to see this owl. >> dangerous in their own way. >> they can be, yes. also so good with rodents, barn owl, for example, can take out 30 mice in an hour. very important that way. protected species, the owl. >> let's take a break, when we come back, the fastest animal on the planet. first, here's one of jack's top five close animal encounters. >> whole cave was alive. okay, if you look up now, look up there. that's all the bird nests. >> those are bats up there. >> bats and birds both. >> okay, let's keep moving.

usain bolt is the fastest human being the world's ever known, but i wonder how he'd fair running against the animal jack hanna has just brought out. jack, we seem to have a large, fully formed cheetah. >> this is a cheetah, goes 70 miles an hour. we clock him at 70. the cheetah's eyesight is impeccable, two miles they can spot a rabbit. >> two miles? >> yes. turn him around here for a

second. look at his eyes, let the guys pick him up on the camera. notice the dark marks under his eyes like a football player, baseball player, mother nature invented that because the cheetah's one of the only cat to hunt in the heat of the day, 110 degrees outside, they have to hunt. they are a weak cat. look at the foot, you got good guys on these cameras. there, perfect. only cat in the world, amazing shot here. only cat in the world with nonretractable claws. every cat in the world can retract their claws except a cheetah. it's like a dog's foot allows them to run even faster. the sad thing is, piers, when they make a hit at 50, 60 miles an hour, 60% of the time the animal gets away. >> all right, mate. >> i'm here, don't worry. maybe you should worry. anyway -- >> first time i've really felt quite intimidated. close up, this is a big beast. >> in the wild, we film the comfort zone of me and the comfort zone of the animal. this animal was raised -- still a wild animal, but also was born

at the wilds, one of the most spectacular places we have outside the columbia zoo. >> how would this kill? >> basically, in the wild, it has to do the throat and do the choke hold. they're sitting there five to ten minutes once they do that. the sad thing is, piers, what happens if they do make a kill, buzzards and vultures circle over, hyenas and lions are sleeping, they take the kill from the cheetah and eat the cheetah, the lion will. >> really? lion will kill the cheetah and eat it? >> that's not a very common thing, but they will do that. >> can the lion kill anything? >> king of the beast, kill just about anything, there's a solitary cat, again. cheetah is solitary, very, very endangered throughout africa. by the way, egyptians -- >> they prefer to be alone? >> yes, oh, yea. unless they have cubs. only cat in the world to keep cubs three to four years. egyptians also, another cat egyptians actually domesticated

-- tried to domesticate, but now the cheetah exists nowhere in northern africa. right there there in southern africa, zambia, is where you start finding the cheetah. >> how can your trainers be so relaxed? >> these folks -- cheetah on the first birth of cubs she'll eat them or destroy them or let them go. they were born four weeks early. this is one of four, we've saved two of them. in the wilds, we breed ten and 12 cheetahs a year, 10,000 acres we have in southeastern ohio. it's magnificent, beautiful creature. hear that noise there? hear that? that's purring. >> over 100 meters, if it was this cheetah against usain bolt, who'd win? >> you and me? >> cheetah against usain bolt, jamaican sprinter who won the olympics. who would win? >> this thing here. are you kidding me? he wouldn't even go ten feet -- >> really? >> when we film, it's three cameras. three cameras can't even film

the cheetah kill. it's this, cat turns at 50 miles an hour like that, hits his prey, it's like a cloud of dust. >> no faster animal in the world? >> peregrine falcon. that's a bird by the way. >> but in terms of land? >> no. >> amazing, amazing creature. >> for you to see that means a lot to us. you see the fastest animal in the world. that's a cheetah. >> i've never been this close to an animal where you feel the power. this is not even one of the really big cats. i can feel the surging power and aggression. >> next time i come i'll bring a full-grown tiger. >> thank you. >> joking. >> what makes you think there will be a next time? >> you see the tail, piers, sail on a sailboat. going 60 miles an hour, that tail will help them turn. >> amazing. probably the ugliest, the warthog. here he comes. >> they say the wildebeest is leftovers.

>> ugly animal. you love animals, but you must agree this is a particularly ugly specimen. >> yeah, he's something. the wart hog. see the warts on his face? these warts, when he gets full grown, the warts get over his face and helps protect him when he fights sometimes. plus, his teeth -- would you call teeth, grant, ivory come down his mouth like two knives and those things are important for him to help protect himself if a lion were to attack. a lot of lions, that cheetah, for example, the warthog is the main source of food. he spends 60% of his life on his knees eating grasses and tubulars and that kind of stuff. the warthog also is important for other animals. >> how many milk do they drink a day? >> drinking a lot now. >> he's weaning. >> see that tail? that tail will stick up like this. grant will show you. if you go to africa and that animal does that, all the animals, zebra, wildebeest see

that and take off, they know the warthog has sensed them. they're very bright animals and they know when something bad is coming around. he is eaten by a lot of animals, he digs holes in the ground, the warthog, hyena eats him and takes his hole. they're an animal people don't think are bright, but intelligent creature, these animals are. >> extraordinary. >> see those warts? warthog. next, couple of the cutest critters. first, another close encounter with a malaysian cobra. >> they are really attentive to movement. >> oh! >> you can see how they strike. >> the end of this snake show was just as amazing. >> catch the snake now, huh? >> you're going to catch him? >> golly. >> wow! again? it's embarrassing it's embarrassing! we can see you carl. we can totally see you. come on you're better than this...all that prowling around.

yeah, you're the king of the jungle. have you thought about going vegan carl? hahaha!! you know folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than antelope with night-vision goggles. nice! get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

back with jack hanna, who's turning my studio into a slice of madagascar. we've now been joined by a vast bear-like creature. what is this? >> i don't know if you can kneel. kneel, because the cameras, i think they'll get a better shot here. that's great. i can ask that, this animal's what i call a wolverine. they say pound-for-pound most fearless animals in our country, but this is a binturong from malaysia. when he sits in trees, hangs upsidedown, but if that tail were to get around your neck, he would do you in in 30 seconds.

he would not do that. big teeth, whiskers are this. they get bigger than that. nocturnal in malaysia, he can feel with those whiskers in total darkness. to move around. >> smells exactly like popcorn. >> we get so hungry in the truck driving around with him. those claws can tear apart anything. remember you saw the cobra there? >> do your guys never get bitten? >> again, they raise the animals. they know these are wild animals, but for educational purposes, especially the honor of coming here to your show tonight, to teach people about these creatures. teach people about these creatures and an animal, they'll shoot the animal because it might get chickens or something. the good lord created creatures for a reason, this is spectacular. call them a bear cat because he looks like a bear. -- feels like a better. have you ever touched a bear? >> no. >> that's stupid. >> no, sensible. >> not many people have seen a bear cat binturong.

>> amazing creature. thank you very much. next is a palm civet. >> i don't know if you remember the czars disease. >> the palm civet, its droppings are used to fertilize coffee. someone told me that. >> eats a coffee bin, goes through his intestines, take it and bake it and sell it for $500 a pound. palm civet coffee. can you imagine that? >> extraordinary. >> supposed to be medicinal. but if you remember czars ill disease killed people? >> yeah. >> this is the animal that caused the disease. it's a dell cassie in asia. sells for $200 in a restaurant. also under the armpits are a scent gland used for perfume in the '40s and '50s. but this animal, like the other one, loves to eat cobras. he can eat a king cobra. how does he do that, real quickly, when a cobra strikes at you, it's like this.

not like a rattle snake hitting you two or three times. like this, right? you can predict it. this animal comes down on the ground, starts walking around the cobra. the cobra is like this trying to get him. all of a sudden this creature runs around the cobra and the cobra's going like this trying to follow him. the cobra gets so dizzy, he falls over and bites the cobra's head off. >> no. >> it's funny. not for the cobra. >> unbelievable. makes him go round and round in circles, so dizzy he falls over. >> how would nature know that? but he knows how to do that. >> how extraordinary. >> bear cat was from, that's where this one is from. >> amazing. >> this animal here is one you've heard about. this, piers, is the siberian lynx. >> all right, easy. you'll hold him. just holding him a bit loose there for my liking just in case he decides to jump. >> this animal here, sorry to say, some species of animals declared extinct in the wild a year ago.

you don't see many animals that are declared extinct in the wild. siberian lynx is doing pretty good in zoos. this animal lives in altitudes way high up. he's hunted for his coat also. he sees himself in that monitor right there. >> uh-huh, yeah, he has. >> sees something there. >> seeing me at the moment. look of hunger in its eyes. >> if you guys can focus on his back foot for a second. this back foot. you see how flat this is -- let me show you on the side. you see this? this animal runs on the whole back part not just the pad. this whole thing. this is what he runs on. it's like a snowshoe. if he ran on this -- >> amazing. he runs flat on that? >> exactly. because it's -- we invented the snowshoe, but it was invented thousands of years ago for this animal. because he would sink in the snow. this animal was hunted for their coats, now it's not the case, there's so few they can't locate

each other. >> they're beautiful, yeah. >> now we have the -- >> he can jump on you if you want to. >> consider the answer to every one of your questions to be no. >> this is the ring tailed lemur. >> it's a presimion. that means premonkey and preape. could you imagine how long this animal has been on the planet? look at the hands? just like your hand. isn't that amaze something you can imagine the tens of thousands of years. he's only from madagascar. that's where they live. they live in families -- >> they are human hands. >> exactly. >> he's got my notes. >> i'm sorry, are those your notes? >> he's also marking your notes. he can't hang by his tail. we call him larry the lemur. coming up, more on jack hannah's top five close

encounters. >> i stepped in for a closer look. when suddenly -- golly. >> oh, jeez!

we're back with jack hanna and me, crocodile morgan. we saved the best for last. this lizard is fantastic, it has the longest tongue i've seen in my life.

>> what he's doing, he feels your body temperature. that's what he's picking up. >> is he feeling i'm hot? >> yes. >> he feels my warm blood. >> exactly. >> he's feeling the warm particles coming off you. >> what does he want to do? >> he might want to get something to eat. >> how? >> what does a lizard do? >> he can bite you. don't worry that, he knows you're too big. kim odo dragon, the bite is usually lethal. 95% because the bacteria in their mouth is what causes it. the kimono dragon can bite something and track it down for a week, he'll find it dead. the bacteria in these animals is incredible. not like the asian water monitor. this one lives in the water, and they have little teeth up in there, the tongue -- i don't know why he's picking up on you and not me. you must be hotter than me.

that is one of the biggest lizards in the world. >> remarkable creature. >> we're down to the final two. this is the kink ju. >> or honey bear. >> that's a sweet little thing. >> he gets about three times this size. he can get into a bee's nest. it's called a honey bear as well. >> how do nice cuddly little things like this survive in the wild? >> a lot of them are eaten by snakes or birds of prey. >> every day must be difficult. >> every day must be like a salt course. >> it is. this guy turns green. the reason is, alge grows on their fur and he looks like a big blob of moss in the junkel. bees -- when he gets big, his fur is so thick, the bees cannot penetrate the fur when they attack him when he's eating the honey. >> this is our final one. i like this. what is it doing?

>> that's just a little dirt. >> are you sure? >> it's not having a -- >> no, it's the dirt he lives in. >> this is a toad that came over from south america. we brought him here to control the rodents in the sugar cane fields of miami. the problem is, they came back like mice. you see this, this is toxic poison. dogs eat them they won't survive, it's neurotoxic poison. he blows up like this to protect himself. see that? >> yeah. >> should explode all over your face in a second. >> what! >> just kidding. sometimes harvey stays in tubs as well. >> fantastic. >> what's this. >> stay over here. >> keep his head this way. >> you remember we talked about the anaconda? >> is this an anaconda? >> you saw that one that almost bit me? >> you have an anaconda wrapped around your neck, are you mad? >> they have teeth like fish

hooks. if this snake were to bite you, remember this in case it ever happens to you. he cannot let go, it takes 30 minutes for him to relax his jaw muscle and he'll let go. if you're hiking somewhere. a boa constrict, or python bites you, what you do, you sit there. piers? >> not now, jack. >> you sit there -- >> he's not going to do it right now. >> what is he doing right now? >> he's smelling you. >> what does that mean? for the kill or what? >> no, remember something, this snake gets to be almost 25 to 30 feet long. he's a water snake. they have live babies. the python is from asia and africa. they lay eggs. >> does the anaconda hinge its mouth -- >> yes. >> why is it around your neck? >> he knows he's an animal that's too big to eat. he's not going to bite him. >> it knows it can't kill him? >> he doesn't know he's human, knows he's an animal, too big to eat. plus, he works with animal uc